Paperback Version of The Tribulation to Come
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The Tribulation to Come, Dennis R. Dinger, 2003, 2nd
Edition.

This book was
written before The Coming of the Lord Draweth Nigh and should be
considered a companion to it.

This is a study of the Book of
Revelation. Early chapters consider the subjects of tribulation,
suffering, and wrath in the lives of Christians. Later chapters delve into the details and intricacies of each chapter of the
Book of Revelation. The subject of prophecy is valuable for all
(Christians and non-Christians alike) to know and to understand --
especially as the day of the Lord's return approaches.

Many today believe the church will not be
present (on earth) during the time known as The Great Tribulation.
No one wants to be here during that time, and the popular pre-trib
approach to Bible prophecy teaches that believers will not be here.
They will have been raptured prior to that event.

This book presents a well-referenced post-trib
view of Bible prophecy as an alternative to the pre-trib view. The
church will endure the tribulations of this time period because they are
caused by the world, the flesh, and the devil --- not by God. During
the Tribulation period, believers will be aided by the Holy Spirit to
overcome the devil and his beast. Following the Tribulation, the Lord
Jesus Christ will return to earth, the dead in Christ will be resurrected,
all believers will be caught up into the air and changed (at the rapture),
and only then (after the Lord's return, the resurrection, and the rapture)
will God pour out His wrath on a sinful, rebellious world.

Many Christians today have never heard
anything but pre-trib teachings. There are other approaches,
however, and this book presents one of them. All topics are well-referenced for those who, as the Bereans,
are constantly checking the scriptures to determine whether these things
are so.

All who are interested in the prophetic
scriptures, the events surrounding the Lord's return, and the Book of
Revelation should read this book.

Excerpts from the book:

Preface to the 2nd Edition

A whole decade plus a few years has passed since the 1st
Edition of this book was printed. Why revise it now?

There were a few things said in the first edition that I wanted to
clarify and improve. During these years, I have had the opportunity to
study more and observe more world events. Hopefully, I have matured
somewhat, due to the teaching of the Holy Spirit. Have I changed my mind
about what the Bible teaches on the subject of prophecy? No – I am more
strongly a proponent of a post-trib rapture today than I was when I wrote
the original volume.

Since the 1st Edition was completed, we have moved many
years along the prophetic time line so we are closer now than ever to the
Lord’s return. We are closer than ever to The Great Tribulation as well.
Are Christians, or the church as a whole, prepared for either of these
events? No. Are we any better prepared for either event than we were when
the 1st Edition was written? No. For these reasons, an
understanding of Bible prophecy concerning the events of the last days is
more urgently needed today than ever.

Throughout this study, every attempt will be made to give clear,
supporting references. As the Bereans did in Acts 17:11, each of us should
receive God’s Word with all readiness of mind and search the scriptures
daily to determine whether these things are so. In many places, I have
quoted the scriptures and provided the references. This way, you won’t
need to be constantly flipping back and forth from this book to your Bible
to understand what I am trying to say. It will all be right in front of
you.

When I do only provide a reference, it is simply to answer your
question: “Where does the Bible say that?” At that point, you can
pause to look up the verse for yourself, or you can simply continue
reading. My recommendation, when this happens, is that you simply keep
reading. As you go back at a later time to look into details, then you can
check out all references.

When you do take a break from this book to study the passages in your
Bible, read whole chapters in the Bible so you can see the context. Read
whole books of the Bible to see the context. In fact, it is a good idea,
and I recommend it heartily, that you read through the Revelation several
times before beginning this book. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide as you
read, to show you what He has written, and to teach you the important
points that He wants you to learn. God will be delighted if you request
the Spirit’s guidance in this way as you read.

I said this before, and I stand by this comment: It is of no great
concern to me whether or not you believe a word I say throughout this
study. I do care, however, that you have the opportunity to see the
presentation and hear supporting scriptures for a post-trib approach to
prophecy. Then, it’s between you and the Holy Spirit. He will teach you
the clear meanings of God’s Word in truth. I ask for nothing more than
this.

Many distractions will attempt to muddy the waters in a study like
this. Neither likes, dislikes, wishes, desires, emotional responses,
biases, pre-conceived ideas, nor traditions should be allowed to distract
from the teachings in the Bible. It is difficult to put all of these
aside, but the Holy Spirit can teach the truth while providing the
wherewithal to overcome any distractions.

All scriptures, which are quoted in bold text, are taken from the KJV
except where noted. The author has used bold italic fonts for emphasis
within scripture quotations, and bold and italic fonts for emphasis in the
regular text.

I pray that the Lord will bless and guide all who undertake this study.
I especially pray that each of you will be able to clearly see the
simplicity God has placed in His Word and the prophecies He wrote and
preserved for His people.

Dennis R. Dinger
4 December 2003

Preface to the 1st Edition

The question you may now be asking yourself is, “Why another book on
prophecy and the Revelation?” The main answer is that this study
presents an alternative view to the current popular teachings of the
church. This study has been difficult, because many things have had to be
“unlearned” to try to start with a reasonably clean slate.

This does not suggest that
everything that has been taught is necessarily bad. It just means that at
some point in one’s education, it would be nice to sit down with the
help of the Spirit, and start from scratch. Just yourself, the Spirit, and
God’s Word, with no biases in place, no positions to defend, no bones to
pick, working together to learn and understand the wealth of information
in the Bible.

It is nearly impossible to wipe
the slate totally clean, and I know I have biases, positions to defend,
and bones to pick, which will hinder this effort. I will try to minimize
any distortions and clearly present what is written in the Holy
Scriptures.

As I have said many times before,
I will not be upset if you don’t believe a word I say. I do, however,
care that you believe the truths of God’s Word. Therefore, I will give
you the references to check for yourselves.

The King James Version of the
Bible has been used throughout this work. All Bible quotations, unless
otherwise noted, are from the KJV and will appear in upright bold type.
Italics will be used by the author for emphasis to words or phrases.

As an educator, I have found that
people really don’t learn from other people, especially where scripture
is concerned (see 1 Cor. 2). Having read this book, you will be familiar
with what I have learned, but you still need to study the subject for
yourself. We can listen to sermons, expositions of particular verses of
the Bible, or outlines of themes within the Bible, but unless we study the
subjects carefully for ourselves with the Lord’s help, all the wealth of
the treasures presented to us will be lost.

The teacher who opens the Word in
a Bible study will learn the most of anyone in attendance at that study.
If our only goal is to hear and learn from his presentation, without
studying the subject for ourselves, we will learn very little.

If our goal is to learn as much
as we can by listening to preachers, teachers, or professors, in person or
on the radio or TV, without studying the subjects for ourselves, not only
will our growth be limited, but we will be subject to every whim, tangent,
and crazy teaching present today (and there are a lot of them floating
about.) Such a result is the very opposite of Peter’s description (1
Peter 5:10) of God’s will to make us “perfect, stablish, strengthen,
settle you.”

This study of the Revelation is
the result of a recent search on the part of the author to find out what
God has written for us in the Revelation. Much has been written recently
concerning these last times, but most of it is the well accepted
pretribulation rapture approach. Other views, although present, seem to
have faded into the shadows and are hard to find.

Most of the author’s Christian
friends subscribe to the pretribulation rapture view. Most of the Bible
teachers the author has heard over the last twenty years have also taught
this view. In the author’s attempt to clearly learn and understand these
teachings, many questions arose concerning the consistency of the
explanations and the supporting scriptures.

Rather than finding the expected
proofs in the scriptures, many references were accompanied by the
authors’ explanations in support of prior assumptions. Some events were
positioned where they “must have happened” or where they were
“assumed” to have happened, even though there were no clear references
to them in those specific sections of scripture. Later arguments and
conclusions were based upon these earlier “proofs,” which were really
only suggested interpretations or assumptions. In some cases, accompanying
statements, bordering on arrogance, strongly suggested these were the only
conclusions any educated person could possibly draw from the evidence.

If such views are as faulty as
they appear, what are the alternatives? To answer this question, the
author put most of the commentaries aside for a considerable length of
time, to dig into the Bible. Only after this time, were commentaries again
sought, and then it was to look for other alternative views to the
pretribulation approach. A few good references have been found, but not
many. Most contain the same suggested interpretations, assumptions, and
arrogance noted above.

Some books presenting the
historicist views were quite valuable up to the point where the
conclusions were presented. Background information was excellent, but the
conclusions were found wanting.

My conclusion concerning the
available literature is that there are few good alternatives to the
pretribulation rapture view. I am therefore writing to present an
alternative view. I expect readers will check the references and in
prayerful, spiritually guided studies, make their own informed decisions
whether these things be so.

Acknowledgments

I want to thank those friends who have read and offered comments on early
versions of this manuscript. Special thanks go to Jim Funk for his
encouragement, suggestions, give-and-take, and critical comments during
the study of the Revelation and during the writing of this book.